Brand New World
by snarkysweetness
Summary: Twenty-eight years ago, Pinocchio chose not to abandon the Princess. Now on the eve of her 28th birthday, August and Emma embark on a journey to Storybrooke to break the curse.
1. Family

**Title: **Brand New World  
**Chapter One: **Family  
**Author:** snarkysweetness  
**Rating:** PG-13  
**Characters:** Emma, August, & Henry; Emma/August  
**Summary:** Twenty-eight years ago, Pinocchio chose not to abandon the Princess. Now on the eve of her 28th birthday, August and Emma embark on a journey to Storybrooke to break the curse.  
**Warnings:** None.  
**Disclaimer:** I own nothing.  
**Author's Notes:** This was originally supposed to be a multi-chaptered AU of season one but I lost my desire to really do this. Maybe I'll go back one day and do it, but for now I've reworked this into a one-shot because I really liked the interaction that I had in this. Think of this more as a beginning of what could have been and let your mind go on from there. I have a ton of finished and started things I just want to put out there because I want to move on to other things, so I apologize for spamming you all with fics this week.

He pushed opened the front door, cursing when he realized his wife had not only neglected to turn on the porch light but also the entry light as well. He used his hip to force the door closed, his hands busy carrying his newly fixed typewriter in its heavy case.

"Princess? Kid?" He called, receiving no response.

August Wayne Booth, who had been Pinocchio once upon a time, pushed his way through the dark house, swerving to avoid discarded toys along with the way. With a groan, he set his box down on the floor carefully and began picking up the kid's playthings as he went through the house, turning on the lights as he went.

He loved his wife more than anything in the entire world, second only to their kid, but was it really too much for him to ask that she take a break from playing with their son long enough to clean up after him?

"Ems, what have I told you about-"

"Shut up!" Emma hissed under her breath, glaring up at him from the sofa. Once she was certain he wasn't going to speak she turned her attention back to the kid who was currently asleep with his head in her lap, wrapped up in an old quilt. She moved her fingers through his dark hair with a small sigh before leaning her head back and closing her eyes.

"He just fell asleep," she whispered, clearly exhausted.

August carefully dumped the kid's toys into his toy box before moving to sit on the arm of the couch. He leaned down to cup her cheek, noting the dark circles under her eyes. He placed a soft kiss on her lips before turning his attention to their son who was so pale it reminded August of the first snowfall. He pulled off his glove and rested the back of his hand against the kid's forehead.

"He's burning up," he whispered, worried. Even as a baby he'd never been sickly. The kid was the picture of perfect health. He rubbed the back of Emma's back with his free hand, knowing how worried she had to be.

"He's been like this since this morning; I had to get someone to cover my shift. This is the third time he's been sick this month, Pinocchio. He rarely gets sick and now we can't keep him out of the Emergency Room?"

Her bottom lip protruded out into a pout as she gave him a knowing look.

August closed his eyes as he exhaled. He really hated being called by his real name, even by her, but she only used it when she was feeling particularly vulnerable, when she needed him to fix things for her, which made him unable to be annoyed with her. For all of her brass she was still capable of needing him, which somehow made him love her more.

He buried his lips in her hair, pulling her against him.

"He's a kid, they get sick, and I know you worry about him, but he'll be fine, trust me. Have I ever lied to you?" He whispered, stroking her hair.

"No, but my birthday is tomorrow, maybe the curse-"

"No," August insisted, pulling away from her. He knew where this was leading and she wasn't backing down from this, not when they were so close. "He probably just didn't get over whatever virus he had the first time. You're not getting out of this so easily, Princess."

"But what if he's not well enough to travel?"

August gave her a 'no' look.

"We're going."

Emma shot him a death glare but it did nothing to him. Once he may have feared it but they had been together far too long for anything but her sexual wiles and the occasional pout to affect him in any way that would allow her to manipulate him.

"We don't even know how to break the damn curse! What good is showing up in Storybrooke going to do us? Am I supposed to talk up to Snow White and say 'Hi, I'm your daughter'? We don't have a real plan."

August rolled his eyes before silencing her with his lips.

"That's how we're going to break the curse."

It was her turn to roll her eyes.

"Yes, because a curse that powerful is really going to be broken with True Love's Kiss? This isn't that damn book you wrote for Henry, this is real life. Or…our version of it."

She'd been stubborn to believe, even as children. They'd been separated into different foster homes, of course, but he always found a way to get thrown out of his homes when they were too far from her. Eventually he got out of the system and worked his ass off to make sure he had a proper place for them to live once she was old enough to leave as well.

As a child she'd loved hearing his stories and getting his letters but the longer she stayed in the system, the more she moved around, unable to find a family who wanted her, the more cynical she became, until she refused to believe his stories of their home were real.

Her thirteenth birthday had been the first time she'd called him a liar and the accusation had stung.

The day she was released from the system, he talked her into taking a trip with him on his bike. They ended up in Storybrooke, where he began pointing out the different 'characters' from his stories. She still refused to believe, so he made her take note of the children. When she shrugged him off with a 'so what' he produced pictures he'd taken years ago from his own trip to Storybrooke after he finally located the place where their families were trapped; everyone looked the same.

Of course Emma didn't believe him still, so he dropped the matter, until after Henry was born. When they returned to the town years later with the same children being the same age, not having aged a day, did the truth finally hit her.

Emma had been insistent on breaking the curse then and there but August knew enough from the time he'd lived in their land to know it wouldn't work that way, so they went on with their lives, knowing that they'd have to break the curse eventually.

He knew she was terrified, Hell, so was he. They'd been in this land for nearly three decades, grown accustomed to life here, started a family of their own, and now they'd have to give it all up to be reunited with their parents and to save everyone. They didn't know if they'd ever return to their little townhouse or if they'd be sent back to their world, but he knew that as long as they did it together, the way they were meant to, they could get through it.

"Ems, trust me, I've lived in that land, I've seen incredible things. Your father brought your mother back from death with a kiss, trust me, it will work."

"And if it doesn't?"

He smirked.

"That's a big 'if', but 'if' it doesn't work, then we'll figure it out. That's what we do, Princess, we adapt."

"Dad?"

He looked down to find Henry stirring sleepily.

"Hey kid," August whispered, leaning down to kiss his son's feverish forehead. "How are you feeling?"

"Tired," Henry mumbled, shifting so he could bury his face in his mom's shirt.

Emma and August exchanged a look before August carefully lifted Henry into his arms.

"Come on, let's get you into bed."

"What about your leg?"

August shrugged. He'd manage. With a bit more care than usual, August carried Henry up the stairs and into his room before tucking him into bed snugly. He stretched his aching leg out, cursing to himself. Whatever magic had kept him flesh and human all of these years was fading. If they didn't break the curse not only would the town be screwed, but he would be as well.

He pushed a sweaty piece of Henry's hair away from his forehead, watching him slowly drift back to sleep.

It wasn't the breaking the curse part that worried August, it was the part that came after; the final battle with the Evil Queen business. He'd be damned if anything happened to Emma or Henry. She was right, he had no idea what breaking this curse would entail, but he was more than prepared to fight for them if he had to. He'd already lost his father, he wasn't losing them too.

The weight of the bed shifted as Emma joined him, wrapping her arms around his waist from behind.

"Are we going to be okay?" She whispered, resting her chin on his shoulder.

He reached to take her hand and turned his head to kiss the bridge of her nose.

"Yes," he whispered, having faith that they'd make it through this.

* * *

"So, this is it," Emma announced, slamming the door to the bug as she stepped onto the sidewalk, joining her boys. She looked up at the boarded up clock tower, feeling a sick knot form in her stomach.

August took her hand while Henry took the other. She gave his hand a squeeze as she looked up at him. She wished she could have the same unyielding faith that he and Henry seemed to possess. The most she could manage was to not think too much about what they were about to attempt to do.

"What are we going to do first, mom?"

August gave her a small nod of encouragement.

"First we're going to find your grandparents and then I'm going to kiss your dad and see what happens."

Emma was sure this would all be more complicated than August made it out to be, but as long as she had him and their kid along for the ride, she was sure she would handle anything this town sent their way.


	2. Reunion

**Title:** Brand New World  
**Chapter Two:** Reunion  
**Author:** snarkysweetness  
**Rating:** PG-13  
**Characters:** Emma, August/Pinocchio, Henry, Snow, Charming, Geppetto, Ruby, Rumpelstiltskin, & Regina (kind of on the last three); Emma/August & Snow/Charming  
**Summary:** Twenty-eight years ago, Pinocchio chose not to abandon the Princess. Now on the eve of her 28th birthday, August and Emma embark on a journey to Storybrooke to break the curse.  
**Warnings:** So many reunion feels (which, TBH, is the only reason I decided to do this).  
**Disclaimer:** I own nothing.  
**Author's Notes:** Since so many people liked this (and Angelic made that perfect gifset) I decided to write another chapter. This is basically how I intended it all to end. It's all of the stuff in the middle I wasn't sure about because it started going in another direction and I just…knew it would be bad and never get finished. I'll probably finally write a long fic about August not leaving and like…their lives eventually (the nice thing about AU's is you can always go back and do them and take your time), but this is it for this particular story. When I eventually get around to it, I'll make it its own thing. Anyway, enjoy! And bless you all for the lovely reviews because the fic spam I'm doing this week is mostly of things I've had written for months and have not been pleased with so I'm glad you guys are enjoying them (especially since one they're all done and posted I will have more time to fill all of the wonderful prompts you all send me. As always, thanks to the wife.

The purple smoke lifted and Emma sighed with relief when she realized that she was still in Storybrooke.

"MOM!"

"Henry!"

She ignored the pain in in her side and sprinted towards her kid, drawing him into her arms. She held back a small sob and held onto him as if her life depended on it. Once she was sure he wasn't going to disappear she pulled away to look him over, cursing that bitch Regina for hurting him.

"Are you okay?"

He nodded, fear still visible in his eyes.

"Mom, you're bleeding."

Emma glanced down to the blood seeping through her shirt and knew it wasn't the only place she was injured. She lifted Henry's chin, brushing her thumb across a small scrape on his skin.

"I'm fine, it's just a scratch." Plus a few burns from the dragon. Not to mention the black eye Regina had given her. And her broken heart.

_August…_

"Where's dad?" Henry asked, as if reading her mind.

She stood and took his hand, leading him towards Granny's, the only place she could think of to go while her mind processed everything that had happened today.

"He's fine," she lied, thinking about how they'd gotten here.

They'd come to town, intent on breaking the curse and, as usual, she was right in her assumption that breaking it would not be as easy as August tried to make it out to be. When his True Love's Kiss theory didn't work they stuck around town on the story that they were there so August could write a new book. They enrolled Henry in the school where her mother was his teacher.

It had taken all of Emma's self-control not to blurt everything out to her the first time she met her. Through Henry she became friends with the woman who was Mary Margaret and they managed to find her father and help him out of his coma. From the moment they rolled into town things began to change and it didn't take long for Regina to take notice and set her sights on Emma and getting rid of her.

Were it not for Rumpelstiltskin they're probably all be dead right now.

Hell, because of him one of them was dead.

Double-crossing bastard.

August was near death, the wood taking over his body, no matter how many times she tried to kiss it better. He was under no curse; he was just running out of magic. Magic they desperately needed and couldn't get because this world had none. Thanks to his knowledge of the true identities of the town's inhabitants, however, they were able to get Gold on their side early on, which had been easy seeing as he wanted the curse broken just as much as they did.

So she'd agreed to fight the dragon to get the potion; anything to save August.

The plan was simple: kill the dragon, give August the potion, and then use what was left to break the curse. But things hadn't worked out that way. Instead Gold stole the potion and used it for God only knew what, judging by the purple smoke, and Emma had to suffer through losing the man she loved.

She made it back to their room at Granny's just in time to watch him fully transform and before she could take a moment to feel the pain of that loss Ruby burst in with the news that Regina had taken Henry.

Like the savior everyone kept telling her she was she rushed into action, coming to blows with the mayor and disabling her long enough to get Henry out of the mansion and to safety.

"_I'm not going without you!"_

"_You have to, kid, just run and keep running until you find your grandparents, okay?"_

_He shook his head, his face covered in tears._

"_No!"_

"_Henry, go!" She pulled him against her in a quick hug. "I love you." She broke away and kissed him, sure Regina would probably kill her and Henry would be left without parents, but as long as he got out of here she knew Mary Margaret would keep him safe and that was all that mattered. _

_The moment she pulled away from him a bright light filled the room and she heard Regina cry out behind her, clearly pissed. Emma had no idea what was going on, but she pushed Henry towards the door. _

"_GO!"_

Emma shook off the memories, not wanting to remember anymore. She wasn't proud of what she'd been forced to do, but Regina wouldn't stop. Regina would have killed her and…

"Mom?"

"Come on, we need to find your grandparents, I think…I think we broke the curse."

Emma had felt the magic being released when she kissed Henry. Perhaps her willingness to die for him had triggered something. Or maybe it had to do with the bottle of True Love Gold had stolen. She didn't really care; she just had to find her parents. She needed to keep Henry somewhere safe so she could check on August. She refused to accept that he was gone. Kissing him may not have worked earlier, but maybe it would now.

"Henry!"

Emma turned in surprise, knowing that voice.

"Dad!"

Henry abandoned Emma and ran for his dad, throwing his arms around him. Emma limped over to them, thinking maybe Regina had come closer to killing her than she was willing to admit out loud.

"You're alive!"

Emma threw her arms around the both of them, sobbing in relief. She didn't care how he was still alive, she was just grateful.

"Yeah, Ems, about that-"

She followed his eyes and realized that while he was still alive he was also still wooden.

"I think I can do something about that," she said with a smile, moving onto her toes to press a kiss to his cold, hard lips. After a moment he returned the kiss and she felt his familiar arms wrap around her. Pulling away she smiled when she found him back to his normal self.

"So, I guess you weren't completely wrong about that True Love's Kiss crap."

He smirked.

"Why do you think I'm still here, Princess? If you'd stuck around for another minute you'd know that," he muttered, noticing her bruises for the first time. His eyes went dark and she shrugged.

"Not now. Come on, we have people to find."

"Did you-"

She nodded.

"Look at me, I killed a dragon, broke a curse, defeated an evil queen, and saved you two all in one day. I think I deserve an award; or a nap. Oh a nap sounds good," she muttered, letting them both go. As soon as she no longer had them to hold onto she faltered, feeling lightheaded.

"Woah, come here, Princess." August lifted her into his arms, which she immediately protested. "You've lost too much blood; we're getting you to the hospital. Kid, you okay to walk?"

"Yeah," Henry whispered, taking Emma's hand as August led them across the street from Granny's where the bug was parked.

"DAMMIT CHARMING! I'm finding our daughter!"

Emma beamed. She'd know that voice anywhere.

"August put me down."

"No."

He set a glare on her and she glared right back.

"You need to get to the hospital."

"I need to see my parents."

"No!"

They stared one another down for another moment before Emma hit him below the belt.

"If you let me go I'll finally give you that second kid you've always wanted."

"Gross," Henry muttered.

August was not pleased with her, she'd cut him a little too deep with that one, and he seemed to be having an internal war with himself.

"Pinocchio!"

August's decision was now made for him. He set Emma down carefully with a 'we're discussing this bullshit later'. Emma gave him a regretful look before kissing him quickly.

"I love you."

"Yeah, You get three minutes, got it? Then I'm getting you to a doctor."

Emma nodded and August pulled her against him, kissing her. He traced the line of her jaw with his thumb as he drew away from her and gave her a small nod before taking Henry by the hand, leading him towards the diner and Geppetto. She watched them go, not wanting to miss this.

"My boy!"

"Father!" August threw his arms around his dad who was now crying. Emma smiled as she watched them, suddenly nervous for her own family reunion. August pulled away from his dad and picked Henry up into a hug. "There's someone you need to meet."

"Hi grandpa!" Henry beamed.

Emma shook her head with a chuckle and turned away, finding her kid to be far too precious to handle right now. She winced at the pain in her side. August had been right about taking her to the hospital, but she needed to see her parents before she could go anywhere. She moved towards where she'd heard them arguing and spotted them around the corner from the diner.

"Mom? Dad?"

Her father released her mother's hand and moved towards her, completely in awe. Emma gave him a small smile as her mother rushed past him, clearly not the patient one of the two. She threw her arms around Emma and Emma bit back a yelp of pain. She didn't care how much pain she was in, she was hugging her mother, something she'd waited her entire life to do.

"So it's true?"

Though she'd been prepared for this, some part of her was still a skeptic and this seemed to be too much to really process. She was ready to wake up and have this all be a dream.

"Yes it is, baby."

Snow pulled away and took Emma's face in her hands, her eyes opening wide in shock.

"You're hurt."

"This? It's nothing. I'm a cop, I've dealt with worse," she fibbed with a shrug, fighting back tears.

Her mother shook her head as her father pulled her into his arms, crying. He ran his fingers through her hair, holding onto her like he never wanted to let her go.

"You found us," he whispered, kissing her temple.

Emma smiled and pulled away to look behind her towards August as she wiped at her eyes.

"Yeah, well, I had help."

Charming eyed August warily.

"How…"

She bit her lip in hesitation.

"Don't be mad, I mean…you kind of did the same thing, really, but um…Geppetto sort of sent Pinocchio with me…"

"He did wh-"

"Henry!" Snow interrupted, taking Charming's hand. "That means…he's…"

"Your grandson?"

Charming watched Henry for a long moment, as if he was seeing him for the first time.

"I have a-"

"Go," Emma said knowing grandson trumped daughter.

Snow took Charming's hand and they had a silent conversation with their eyes for a moment. Snow turned back to Emma, shaking her head.

"We should get you to a doctor first-"

"Go. Trust me, that overprotective husband will be forcing me to the hospital any moment now."

A flash of pain went across Snow's face but it disappeared as fast as it came. Emma understood the look. She'd been reluctant to get married, knowing her parents were stuck in this town, but all August had to do was remind her that they had Henry and needed to be responsible while giving her his puppy dog 'please marry me already' look to get her to agree to it. At least her parents had Henry to fuss over now, even if they had missed everything else.

"GO!" Emma insisted, exhaling when they finally left her to go to Henry. She gathered her strength and slowly followed. She closed her eyes, feeling a wave of dizziness come over her. She swayed and reached for something to steady her.

"Hey, come here," August pulled her against him and Emma leaned into him.

"Maybe we should go to the hospital now?"

August kissed her temple and she could picture him shaking his head.

"Yeah, come on."

Emma woke hours later to the sound of hospital machines and something pressed to her side. She blinked her eyes open, glad the lights were off. She groaned in pain, feeling a needle in her arm. If she wasn't sure it was connected to painkillers, she'd rip it out. She shifted her weight and glanced down, smiling when she saw a sleeping Henry glued to her with both arms wrapped around her.

Her eyes scanned the rest of the room, finding it empty. She looked out the glass doors to find her parents asleep, sharing the same chair outside of her room, and Geppetto asleep in a chair across from them. She began to wonder where her husband was when his handsome face appeared in the doorway.

"You're awake," August whispered. He approached her bed with a cup of coffee and set it down on the side table before leaning down to kiss her. "How are you feeling?"

Emma smiled and reached over to take his hand, linking her fingers with his.

"Like crap. What happened?"

He carefully sat on the edge of her bed and wrapped one arm around her while burying his face in her hair.

"You lost a lot of blood. They gave you a transfusion. You got some stitches. But you'll be fine. Just a few bumps and bruises."

"Hmmm, good."

"Yes, so once you get better there should be no problem on you delivering on that baby you promised me."

Emma winced.

"About that, I'm so-"

"Save it. I get it, it's your parents."

"But I still should-"

He cut her off by pressing his lips against hers. He moved his hand into her hair, deepening the kiss, breaking it only when he sensed she needed to come up for air.

"Just worry about getting better, okay?" He whispered, pressing his forehead against hers.

She nodded, moving her fingers into Henry's hair.

"So what happens now?"

August shrugged, glancing out the room's window to their family.

"I guess we just see what happens."

Their eyes met and Emma smiled, bringing him back down for another kiss. They'd made it this far, she was confident they could survive anything.


End file.
